University of Horticultural Sciences Bagalkote

Tomato is one of the most versatile vegetable crops, grown globally under diverse climatic conditions. Abiotic stresses, particularly drought, severely affect tomato productivity, causing yield losses of up to 70 % depending on stress duration and crop growth stage. Present study aimed to breed drought tolerant tomato hybrids by screening 13 parental lines and 30 hybrids along with one hybrid check under induced moisture stress. Early seedling screening using polyethylene glycol (PEG)-6000 revealed a reduction in germination percentage (-1.81 % and -15.60 %), shoot length (-7.28 % and -13.29 %) and seedling vigour index (-5.13 % and -17.55 %) with increasing PEG concentrations (8 % and 16 %) compared to the control. Field evaluation under different irrigation intervals showed significant reduction in plant height (-13.62 % and -28.16 %), total dry matter (-7.03 % and -16.13 %), leaf area (-8.55 % and -19.55 %) and yield (-26.86 % and -50.86 %), while root length (9.30 % and 17.15 %) and proline content (16.58 % and 42.68 %) increased under drought stress conditions (10 days and 20 days irrigation interval). The parental lines, EC-638519, Arka Meghali and Kashi Anupama and hybrids EC-608269 × Kashi Anupama, Arka Meghali × EC-634394 and Arka Saurabh × EC-638519 exhibited superior seedling vigour, yield performance and drought tolerance across early seedling, vegetative and reproductive stages. Molecular screening using 11 simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers resulted in monomorphic banding pattern indicating no detectable variation for these primers among the screened lines. Collectively, the study offers valuable opportunities for breeding hybrids adoptable to extreme drought conditions of marginal areas.

The experiment was conducted during November, 2024 to 2025 at the Department of Postharvest Management, Kittur Rani Channamma College of Horticulture, University of Horticultural Sciences, Bagalkot, Arabhavi, Belagavi District, Karnataka, to study the influence of pre-treatments and different drying methods on the quality of roselle powder. The roselle powder was prepared by following a Factorial Completely Randomized Design (FCRD) consisting of twelve treatments with three replications. The experiment included two factors: pre-treatments (without blanching, steam blanching for one minute and steam blanching for two minutes) and drying methods (sun drying, shade drying, solar drying and cabinet drying at 60°C). The samples were analysed to determine the effects of these treatments on the physical parameter’s recovery (%), moisture content (%) and water activity and chemical parameters including anthocyanin (mg 100 g-1), total phenols (mg GAE 100 g-1) and antioxidant activity (%) of the end product. Among the various treatments, the roselle powder that was prepared with steam blanching for one minute followed by cabinet drying at 60°C was found to be superior with respect to both physical and chemical properties. It showed desirable physical characteristics with a recovery of 10.50%, a moisture content of 10.14% and a water activity of 0.29. The chemical composition recorded higher values with anthocyanin content of 243.15 mg 100 g-1, total phenols of 321.50 mg GAE 100 g-1, and antioxidant activity of 71.39%, indicating better colour stability and improved nutritional quality.

In the present experiment the Tabernaemontana genotype UHSB-CJ3 has been chosen for postharvest experiment to evaluate its response to different chemicals (C1: Sucrose 4%, C2: Boric acid 4%, C3: Water), packaging (40µ and 60 µ polythene bags) and storage conditions (7oC and under room temperature) in a Factorial completely randomized factorial design, with three replications at UHS, Bagalkot during 2021-22. Among the different chemicals, boric acid treatment recorded the highest moisture content (41.90%) and among the different packaging, the higher moisture content was found in buds packed in 60 micron polythene bags and kept at 7oC temperature (82.91%). The maximum relative water content was observed in the boric acid-treated buds (C2), 40.69 percent. Among the different packaging methods, the highest relative water content (76.63 %) was recorded in P2. The buds treated with boric acid (C2) demonstrated the lowest physiological loss of 6.30 percent, while the highest percentage of physiological loss in weight (16.88%) was found in P2. The combination of boric acid treatment and P2 packaging (C2P2) achieved the highest freshness index of 3.67, along with maximum colour retention of 3.67 at 19th day of storage treatment.

The banana pseudostem weevil (BPW), Odoiporus longicollis Olivier (Coleoptera: Curculionidae), is a major internal borer pest of banana causing severe yield losses due to its concealed feeding habit within the pseudostem. Conventional chemical control is often ineffective against this pest. This study evaluated the efficacy of pheromone-assisted trapping methods and live pseudostem traps for BPW management under field conditions in Hosapete taluk, Vijayanagar district, Karnataka, during 2021–2022. Seventeen treatments involving different trap designs, synthetic aggregation pheromone lures and pseudostem-based traps were tested. Among all treatments, horizontally placed cut pseudostem traps at the plant base captured significantly higher numbers of weevils per trap per day (2.42) and per week (16.91), which was followed by vertical stump trap (0.74 and 5.17) and unsplit pseudostem traps (0.19 and 1.32) respectively. These effective treatments also corresponded with reduced BPW infestation in surrounding plants. In contrast, traps lacking host plant material or suboptimal designs showed negligible catches. The results underscore the importance of combining synthetic pheromones with live host cues for effective trapping. Horizontal pseudostem traps demonstrated the highest efficiency and can serve as an integral component of IPM programes.

Jasminum sambac (Mysuru Mallige), a Geographical Indication-tagged medicinal-aromatic flower crop, is vital for India's floriculture industry. This study characterized 30 advanced breeding lines (ABLs) for morphological, molecular, and phytochemical diversity to identify elite genotypes for yield and quality enhancement. Analysis of 16 quantitative floral traits revealed high genotypic coefficient of variation (GCV > 20%) for bud length (21.41%), corolla tube length (19.63%), number of whorls (74.31%), number of petals (47.31%), and bud weight (63.73%), coupled with very high broad-sense heritability (h²_bs > 80%) and genetic advance as percent of mean (GAM > 20%). Principal component analysis (PCA) captured 87.01% variance, primarily through whorls and petals. Mahalanobis D² statistics grouped ABLs into five clusters, with maximum inter-cluster distance (D² = 9063.85) between Clusters I and V; bud weight contributed 23.50% to divergence. Phenotypic correlations showed strong positive associations of bud weight with whorls (r_p = 0.92) and petals (0.84); path analysis confirmed whorls (direct effect = 0.55) and petals (0.32) as key yield drivers. Fifteen SSR markers detected low polymorphism (mean Na = 1.64, PIC = 0.12), forming two clusters aligned with whorl phenotypes. Phytochemical profiling indicated significant variation: total phenols (174.98–260.83 mg/100 g FW), flavonoids (73.21–117.08 mg/100 g FW), tannins (22.92–47.81 mg/100 g FW), and terpenoids (18.27–27.95 mg/100 g FW). Superior genotypes (e.g., COHM-UHSB-25 for yield, COHM-UHSB-14 for phenols) were pinpointed. Compared to prior jasmine studies, these ABLs exhibit enhanced heritability and phytochemical diversity, supporting targeted breeding for fragrant, high-yield cultivars.

Success of any crop improvement programme always needs better knowledge about the genetic variation, which is available in the existing plant genetic resources or germplasms for different traits, their inheritance pattern and relationship with yield and the level of genetic diversity. True breeders always make use of the genetic diversity available in the existing germplasms. Available genetic variations among the existing germplasms supports the breeder’s decision on the selection of parental genotypes and in addition to this, it is also helpful to widen the genetic basis of a crop breeding programme. Conventionally Lablab cultivars have been identified based on phenotypic or morphological characters, which requires the establishment and maintenance of the crop plants till it matures. Though great advances in genomic technology observed in majority of the crop species, the molecular tools availability in Lablab is very scanty. A well saturated molecular map I not available till today and even trait specific markers are not identified in Lablab purpureus L. Sweet. Crop breeding programme through marker assisted selection always demands a well saturated genetic map. Assessment of genetic diversity using DNA markers is one of the key tools of crop improvement and germplasm conservation.